


Captain America: The Knife Of New York

by CRlMSONCLOUD



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hydra (Marvel), Il Bivio, Original Character(s), Original Organisation, Other, SHIELD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25670635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CRlMSONCLOUD/pseuds/CRlMSONCLOUD
Summary: A celebrity goes missing and the world ends up in a panic. Susumu Nakamura, the so called 'sensation of the East' has gone missing, and it has only been revealed recently that another HYDRA base in Beijing has been discovered. The case of the missing man was put aside, until SHIELD found the lead that connected these cases.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson





	1. Prologue - The Knife of New York

PROLOGUE

A man sits in his apartment as he waits for another opportunity to record another part of himself for the camera. The sensation of the East, now living in a downtrodden apartment in an area of Brooklyn. The apartment was a mess, as the man had only been there a week, and the windows had been newly refurbished so that it no longer looked like hooligans had scratched up the place. The man looks down at the camera as he takes a deep breath, hanging his head down, before putting his mask on for the final time of recording. He clicks the button on the camera, and the timer begins to tick down. Ten, and he positions the light ever so slightly. Nine, and he positions himself for the camera. Eight and he waits a little longer. Seven, and he removes a mask that adorns his face. Five, and he turns on the final light to give a view that face. Steve Rogers. It seemed. Four, three, two, one. And he was recording. ‘This is day seven in New York, and I no longer know of what to do in this sector of the world. But I do know of what I would like to say to you once more. I know I’m not even talking to you, I’m only ever talking to a camera. Just as I have been for the past few years. Whether that’s been a new announcement, whether that’s been a new part of me I wanted to share out into the world.’ He holds his hand out for a moment, and he smiles. The beard adorning his face still. The brown hairs in the beard and the blonde, almost dyed hair contrasted one another. But the blue eyes looked into the camera with an overwhelming sense of red, hatred, anger, rage. He looks directly at the camera, and his expression changes into that of a more cruel complexion.  
‘You helped me through so many times in my life. When I had writer’s block, you would come and give me inspiration. Even after the flash death of 2018, you still gave me something. You never gave up any sort of hope that you had for me. And I knew, I knew from there on that you were the one for me.’ He says. Taking a deep breath. ‘I love you, always did from the first time we started talking. On the internet, before I become what I became, before I was famous. Before I met you back in Beijing at the bar. You already gave me a part of my spark. I had a choice, and I wanted to make that spark brighter. So I went with you. We were together for eight years. And never one did I thought of you as deceiving. Never once did I think of you as manipulative. No red flags. Handsome, dashing. Too good to be true it seems. But I must say something right now to you.’ He points at the camera for a moment. ‘This is more than just a lover’s hatred. I fucking know what you have been up to and I know of what your connections are. You brought me up and I will bring you down in an instant. You watch me, whether that be through your little drones, or through those bugs you implanted.’  
He let out a sigh, his chest bobbing up and down as he breathed with haste. ‘I’m coming for you. You know that? Do you not? You know not of what I am capable of. Neither do I, to be frank with you.’ He took a deep breath. The breathing in the recording slowing down as his emotions went from anger to calm within a matter of seconds, a too strange experience for the man. He looks into the camera, and he spoke softly. 'I may not know of what you've done to me, but I know of your organisation, and I will take you down.' He says, the camera eventually shuts off and the man saves the recording onto the camera. The man proceeding to take a few deep breaths and consider what he was really doing. He could only look down in dismay as he so badly wanted out of his own situation.

The man could only look at the live camera and look at himself in the lens before eventually taking the set down. The tripod now upon the shadow stricken walls of his confine as he put it away. He watched back the video and he couldn't help but cringe at it. The video itself, never to be posted, never to be seen as he finally cuts the power to the camera.


	2. Chapter I - The Incident at the Base

An ordinary shroud of shadow was cast upon the HYDRA base, illuminated by the lights that surrounded it like fifty-foot sentinel guards, waiting for the next strike. Steve had already got the ensemble. Keeping them all by his side so that he would be able to take down every single one of the enemies if he had to. The base had been relatively quiet around it and there was no need to worry about any proceeding threats. But there was something to say about the feeling of being watched, and Steve was one to immediately assume that someone else was there in the first place.  
He was never too sure of his intuition at best, is that its serum from the forties that still flowed through his veins and not of any sort of technological value or use. Unlike Stark's weaponry or War Machine's legs for instance. There was nothing there, solid muscle, an intelligent brain and that was all to Steve Rogers apart from the fact he threw around a Frisbee with a star in the middle.  
That is if they wanted to look upon him with a more cynical point of view. He is a beacon of hope, a lighthouse that is never to be shattered by the sands of time or the blade of any weapon that is bestowed upon him by even the most intimidating of men and women. But even that sometimes likes to be challenged by those that are still tenacious enough to go against him.  
The HYDRA bases were one such example. Seven of them had been recently uncovered and they were all going down like flies. Some up in flames and others wrapped with this black mould that continuously grew among the outside of it and then festered upon the inside like a plague. It was strange. But there was one major difference in both of the cases. Especially with that of the German HYDRA bases. People were being killed whenever a HYDRA base was taken down in China. But none were killed when it came to the HYDRA bases in German. It was always pacifist in German, and then they were killed in China. For seemingly no reason. This is what they had to investigate to reach the next steps of taking down HYDRA well and truly once and for all.  
One base had been taken down in Beijing, then Wuhan, then Shenzhen. Shanghai had already been destroyed. The only one left was the one in Frankfurt, Germany, and that was still up and running for the majority of other countries such as Sweden and Serbia to take advantage of.  
A man was already up in the sky to get everything started, performing reconnaissance on the area as he looked through night-vision specs and wasn't seen by any of the cameras that were near the HYDRA base. He didn't need to use any heat protective equipment as they weren't advanced enough, but one could never be too sure. The darkness only illuminated the base more because of the bright light surrounding it. Cap proceeded to put a finger up to his ear and press on the earpiece before speaking. 'What are we looking at Sam? What do you see?'  
'I'm unsure, it's just a HYDRA base, like the ones you tell of. But there's something strange about this one.'  
'All ears here, just tell me of what we're expecting.' Steve says, blunt and calculated.  
'There's an entire army out front, and it seems that they are also preparing for something as well.'  
'Do you think it could be this guy that had taken down the Chinese bases?'  
'Probably. They seem well-armed enough. But you've already seen the footage from the other base.'  
'That's true. Tore through them like no other. But that was the one that went up in flames. Have we got anything from the other bases?'  
'No, not yet.'  
Fuck. Steve thought but didn't say. So they didn't know what they were all up against, and it would all have to be timed. But it didn't take long for them to find out what they were up against.  
'What is it?'  
'What the hell?!' Sam could only respond.  
'Sam? What is it?'  
'Look at the entrance to the HYDRA base, now!' Sam was speechless, even he couldn't even tell what he was looking at. 

Steve looked over at the entrance, but there was something wrong. It was like it was glitching out, as if they were in between worlds. Going from grey scale to coloured. Something was crawling along the floor like veins upon the purest marble, and it was coming to the HYDRA bases way. 

Someone had arrived.  
The person slowly stepped out of the darkness and into the blinding light that was set upon the entrance by the army, the man wearing a mask in the meanwhile so that his face couldn't be seen. It was completely covered. Along with a cloak. The suit underneath the cloak was the same as Steve's however. A star in the middle but that was all that could be seen from the binoculars. Nothing more. The guards had their guns up, looking straight at the figure as each and every one of them centred their guns upon him. Then the man spoke to the guards, and it was prevalent that there was some pleasure in the man's voice. 'Oh, you forgot your demon, how sweet.' He said. Before reaching out behind him as if reaching for a sheath on his back. He brought his hand down by his side and it could be seen that he was slowly forging a weapon in his hand. Strands of the black mass slowly started to form together to create the weapon. Strand by strand the handle was made. Strand by strand the blade was made. All conjoining so that they were able to create one deadly weapon, and in the other, a circular shield. But it wasn't like Steve Rogers' shield. It was wildly different, more like the Wakandan shields that Steve had to use in 2018. More like those. He held his hand out and the darkness starts to spread across the battlefield like a plague, some of the soldiers becoming infected with its charm and staying put because of the strands underneath them. Some shot at the man but he only held his shield up. Not a bullet grazed his skin as he started to walk through the army. Swinging at them and stabbing a few in his wake. But not too many. He made sure it wasn't lethal. More deaths, more notoriety, more trouble.

It was clear the man was out for something, to destroy the HYDRA base once and for all. The assassin seemingly disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared in the HYDRA base's exterior by simply holding his hand out. He went in and out, to the different soldiers. It was unclear as to whether he was truly trying to help the avengers or simply hinder them in their pursuit to take HYDRA down.

Steve immediately looked over at Nat's position and put a finger up to the earpiece. 'Nat, are you seeing this?' He asked It was pretty hard not to. The black mass started to climb up the building like an ivy and the HYDRA soldiers continued to try their best to take him down. Only seeing a few scrapes and marks upon the assassin before quickly running off and trying to call reinforcements before being shut down by the black mass that trapped them once more. Steve said, being presumptive of the matter. But it was hard to tell whether this was truly a winter soldier, or something well and truly knew that they were creating. It seemed that there was no life in the HYDRA plant until the alarms started sounding. A full-frontal assault to subdue the man is what is needed here.  
'That's our cue.' Steve said, quickly before signalling the others to head in.

Natasha took a deep breath before looking at the rest of the base, the parts of the black mass flowing around it like a constant hurricane. This is certainly something none of them had seen before, but they had to make sure that this didn’t get out to the public. They all had to make sure that whatever this is, it is contained. 

Cap and the others immediately went in, a shield being thrown at a few of the HYDRA agents by the door, hitting them, at once knocking them out as Steve hurled one of them over his shoulder. Tackling another before standing up and punching another right in the face. Barnes still was not there. ‘Buck, you still there?’  
‘Right here.’  
Lo and behold, a shot rang past, killing another one of the agents before they got to any of them. James looked over at the other men for a few moments. There was no real need to make sure the shot was perfect. The man already knew. The vibranium arm almost glowed through the leather glove that he wore. 

The base was going to achieve lock-down pretty soon, but the man with the plague walked over to the door, placing his hand upon the wall, taking a deep breath as he watched the black mass spread through the concrete like wildfire. He knew of what he was doing, and he knew that he could stop it.  
Steve knew, Bucky knew, and even Nat knew of what this all was. A rouse, a rouse to get them all into one space, perhaps into a trap. Nat reloaded her shotgun and proceeded to empty a clip into the man, only for the man to hold up the Wakandan-like shield in protest. The man only looked up at them, a word not said, and a leap not taken in his movements. The black mass continued writhing about in the concrete, an ivy growing at five times the rate. 

They knew that reason wouldn’t be the best way to get to him. Steve wanted to try to reason with him, but he knew that it wouldn’t work, not in the slightest. Steve was the first one that went in, using his tactics to gain the upper hand, directing him in his own direction through using the shield to defend himself from the mass.  
Bucky then went in, tried to immobilise him through a knife to the leg, a quick slash and the man was down on one knee. A flawed weapon with a new opening. The man stood back up shortly afterwards, looking over at the two of them.  
Natasha shot him in the arm while he was distracted. But the man could see it coming and directed the black mass to make another shield. Only two words came out of his mouth as he looked over at them all. He couldn’t say much to him, injured. He wrapped something around his leg, more of the black mass, trying to heal the wound that one of them had created. He then proceeded to rip the door off the HYDRA base’s entrance and head on inside, no need for displacing himself now. His figure was almost glitching, flashing, something was faulty. He got inside, and Natasha jumped down from one of the vantage points. 

‘After him!’ Steve shouted to Bucky before dealing with a few of the HYDRA agents outside. He tackled one and then proceeded to use one of their rifles against them, shooting one and then another in quick succession. He took a few down with the signature shield throw and he immediately punched another in the face as they grabbed hold of him.

The figure started to run through the door as he held his hand out, the mass beginning to cover the door and close the opening that he had led. Looking back, the man in the mask continued to run through. Bucky managed to get through, same with Natasha, but Steve was the only one out in the open with the rest of the agents. No words came out of the figure's mouth. He just kept on running, his sword out by his side as he continued to run. Bucky chasing him on his heels. Natasha readying her weapon to shoot him in the leg if need be. 

The heat in the hallway was tense, some of the walls were covered in red from the figure, then black, and then red once more. Warning lights or blood, their visions weren't exactly clear on what it was. The figure continued to saunter through as if he was nothing more than an entity, nothing more than a ghost in the distance. Until Bucky eventually shouted. 'Freeze!' He knew he wasn't police, but it may be fitting to use the terminology here. 

The figure slowly turned around, and he held his hands up in an instant. He said nothing as he looked at them, there was a motive for what he was doing. 'Why should I?' He asked, an Irish accent coming through. He took a step towards them before Natasha readied her weapon and aimed it at the figure's leg. 

'Drop the sword.' Natasha came through, her voice coming through as authoritative as she held the weapon in her hand. She took a breath, ready to shoot.

Bucky held the weapon in his hand before a simple question arose. 'What are you doing here?' 

In which that was met with a simple answer. 'I'm just doing your job.' The figure faded into nothingness as he continued to run through the HYDRA base. The man knew what he was doing as he continued to cut through the HYDRA agents as if they were nothing more than chaff to the wind. 

Bucky and Natasha immediately chased him once more, taking down a few HYDRA agents of their own. They both were trying to figure out who the man was. However, they couldn't. The Irish accent didn't make sense, that he had the suit of Captain America didn't make sense. Nothing about it did. A new enemy, seemingly. Bucky shot a few more of the HYDRA agents that were trying to escape. The ones that were armed at least. The ones that were unarmed were cuffed and bound, whether they be knocked unconscious or tied up. Either one worked for them. The agents weren't their aim in the first place. 

Their objective was the figure. 

They entered the next room. 'You look for the man, I watch out for your six.' Nat stated.  
'Watch my six?' Bucky asks.  
Natasha only nodded in response. The response from Bucky was understandable to her to say the least, the man hasn't been with many people when it came to the missions. They were just the backdrop, while he was the main entertainer, same with the 2014 incident, and the 1991 incidents that took place before. The agents were the backdrop, Bucky was the entertainer. Perhaps this was the same. 

They both saw the figure lurking in the shadows, using them to his advantage just like he did before. Analysing his movements, they both tried to figure out where he headed next, but before they could jump to a conclusion, he went away once more. Bucky held his finger up to his ear, tapping on the earpiece, trying to contact Steve. 'The enhanced is in here, with us.' He said, making sure that the other man was not in the room when he said it. The figure was not there, he was heard in another room. 

Heavy breathing was heard on the other side of the line, panting as if Steve was tired, 'Quickly try to subdue him. He could be more dangerous than the goddamn base at this rate.'

'You're telling me, he's left the interior intact.' 

'That's saying something-- the base seems it's about to collapse.' 

Bucky's heart sank for a few moments as the figure looked upon them both. Crossing his arms as he was stood in the corner. He walks out into the light finally. 'Suppose you two had a brilliant conversation then, did ya?' 

A shot rung out and Natasha glanced over at the man to see whether she did any damage. 

'It seems you forgot the suit was made of Kevlar for Cap. We have those blueprints here too.' The figure then went on to say, the black aura beginning to follow him as the black mass crawled along the walls. 

'Why are you doing this?' Bucky asked, trying his best to get some sort of answer out of him. 

'That I am not able to answer. Had I trust you, I would.' The man responded. Both of their guns still aimed at him, they wanted to make sure that he was subdued, but for the moment, it seems that he had them subdued. They didn't have him locked in a room. Bucky and Nat were locked in the room with him. 'No matter. There's no need for any chit chat in the middle of a goddamn Nazi base now is there, hmm?' The smile could be felt even if it was under a mask. The black mass slowly started to sink into the concrete. The figure took a deep breath, and started to walk out the room, when a myriad of shots were brought through from machine guns. However, they weren't from Natasha nor Bucky. 'How nice of you to join us.' A clap could be heard from the gloved hands of the figure as he looked at the HYDRA soldiers behind Natasha and Bucky. Soon a flash of black mass swept over the top of them all like a wave, only leaving Natasha and Bucky clean. 

The figure turned heel and ran into the data room, a pen-drive was shoved into one of the sockets, and a protocol was initiated. He used his hand, and started to siphon all the data onto the pen-drive. Welcome, Nathaniel. The automated bot was heard saying as he signed in. He continued to siphon the data onto the pen-drive, now to keep the rest of them busy. 

Steve fought his way through the black mass, as hard as stone as if it were made from a metal that could only be mined from Wakanda. Vibranium. He continued to fight his way through the soldiers that were still attempting to flee, while simultaneously wondering whether he was going to get there in time. Only for him to get there when the figure was siphoning everything out of the goddamn base. That's when the sword was drawn and the figure was facing everyone in the room. He looked upon them as he stepped from the computers. 'There's no need to be so hostile.' He says. A gentle voice coming through with the Irish accent. 

Yeah, no need. Bucky thought but didn't say. He aimed his gun right at the man. Steve had his shield at the ready, a gun behind it as he looked upon the man with disdain in his eyes. He felt that something was going to happen. Something extremely bad. Natasha could feel the same way, both Steve and Natasha couldn't stop looking at each other, taking glances at one another. Bucky keeping to his senses as he tries to keep guard. 

Thoughts went through the head of all of them before the shield was thrown at the figure. Right in the face it hit and the figure flew across the room. The shield was enough to break off a bit of his mask. Immediately, Steve rushed over to see what damage he had done, Bucky wanting to hold his friend back. Steve only caught a glimpse of the man. A blue eye, and a bit of a beard underneath. White skin, similar to his own. 

That's when the mask had healed up already. The figure left the room, and set up gates, all of them made out of the black mass he used to make his suit. His voice came through in the speakers above them. 'Apologies, I've got to go. I loved our little chat between us though.' He said. The footsteps beginning to fade, and Bucky was the first one to chase after him. Being stuck on the gate wasn't the best thing to have happen as he pounded on it for a few moments. 

Steve threw his shield at the door, trying to see if he would jam it open through that, but the black mass was too strong. Sticking his hand through the gate, as it was old fashioned. He opened one of the locks, while Bucky managed to find the other, and they both opened the overwhelmingly heavy gate.

Natasha looked up at the screen. Передача завершена. The screen read, and she grabbed the pen-drive and started to leave with the rest of them. 'Steve.' She said. It seems that the figure forgot something after all. She then saw that the fabricated gates had opened. 

Steve looked back at Natasha before saying, 'Come, we'll take a look at it later, there's no time.' Quick words. Getting their point across. Natasha simply put the pen-drive in her suit pocket before leaving with the others. The figure having been long gone before them. Bucky was outside, and the rest eventually all got out of the HYDRA base before it started to crumble behind them. 

The HYDRA base behind them started to rupture through the concrete. All of them watched as the base continued to crumble, fall down. Killing all the ones that were inside. 'Fuck.' Bucky let out as he looked at the unarmed prisoners that they tried taking. All of them, dead. The infrastructure of the base started to expose itself because of the mould growing inside of it. The metal beams stuck out as if the bones of the base were broken, bent, fragmented and distorted. The large tower that it had prided itself upon fell down as if it was nothing.

'Come on, we need to go.' Natasha immediately said before urging the others to call for extraction. 

Steve immediately put a finger up to his ear. Activating the communicator that he had. 'This is Steve Rogers, calling for extraction, over.' He said, waiting for a response. It only took him a minute before he got one. He heard the coordinates. 'Keep everything low profile.' He said, taking a deep breath. Beginning to walk away from the eerily empty and quiet HYDRA base, the base that had once been bustling with the monsters inside, cleansed by someone other than them. But they didn't know for what reason, no one knew for what reason it was for. Quickly, an extraction helicopter descended upon the hill around a few miles away from the HYDRA base. Around one-to-two miles at the least. Making it a bit near for the comfort of Cap. He'd probably have to talk about that later with them. They got into the extraction vehicle and started to head back to New York. 

'The German authorities here will be dealing with this. They work closely with the Italians with things like this.' Steve said to both Natasha and Bucky.

'With the new company.' Natasha immediately responded. 

'Yes. That seems to be the case.' Steve said, taking off his suit and exposing the vest underneath, some parts of the suit had lacerations from the HYDRA agent. Meanwhile, some were from the figure himself. Bucky was in the same way. Natasha had to do the same, taking off her suit to make sure it got repaired for the next trip, same with Bucky in this instance. First mission that they worked together, and already, Bucky, Nat and Cap got their ass handed over to them on a silver platter. They didn't know what they were dealing with. Fury wasn't on the phone, not yet at least, but once he was, that wouldn't necessarily mean good news for the rest of them. 

Just try to get through it all. Steve tried to convince himself to say, but he couldn't. It was all a bit sudden. However, this is what the job entailed, and this is what Buck and Nat signed up for as well. Perhaps unintentionally, but they wanted to get into this, see what it could omit for them. That's what Steve tried to tell himself. There was no success alcohol to be had like the others. No sceptre to joke about, no plans to think for the future. Just one burning question that lingered in all their minds. Who is the figure?


End file.
